Kenyan Blockchain and AI taskforce recommends CBK to consider creating digital currency

The Distributed Ledgers Technology and Artificial Intelligence Task Force set up by the government of Kenya has submitted its report to Joseph Mucheru EGH, Kenyan Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communications.

The Kenyan government created the task force in February 2018. The task force comprised of 11 members from academia and industry and was headed by Dr. Bitange Ndemo, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Nairobi’s Business School.

In its report, the group has made a number of recommendations, including implementing blockchain technology in elections management, public service delivery, agriculture, health, and land titling, among others; minimizing national debt through digital asset frameworks; creating a fintech legal and regulatory sandbox; and creating a “brain trust” which will be tasked with monitoring all emerging technologies and their future applications.

“Ideally, everything happening within IFMIS should be seen in real-time. We shouldn’t be asking questions after the money has left. Blockchain will allow for this to happen,” Prof. Ndemo said.

The task force has also called upon the Central Bank of Kenya to explore creating a digital currency, which would be linked to people’s digital ID and facilitate a “system that is trusted and stable.”

Mucheru welcomed the report and said that he intends to forward it to President Uhuru Kenyatta.

“I’m happy to hear the team recommend that our next elections results transmission should be fully digitized and done through Blockchain,” he said. “It’s indeed bold and interesting to hear your team recommend to [CBK] Governor to not only set up a framework for Digital Currency, but also by so doing, be the first ‘Digital Currency’ Governor of the world.”